June Mar Fajardo bagged another trophy to his collection as he was named Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Most Valuable Player for the eight time.The MVP plum was given on Sunday, August 18 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum during the Leo Awards before the opening ceremony of the PBA’s 49th Season.Fajardo defeated his teammate CJ Perez and now Terrafirma’s Christian Standhardinger to be called the unprecedented eight-time MVP.The previous record that Ramon Fernandez and Alvin Patrimonio held for a long time was four. But when JMF broke the record and made it five, he continually improved to get one after another.

The Petro Gazz Angels bolstered their quarterfinal chances in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference with a hard-fought five-set victory over the PLDT High Speed Hitters on Saturday, August 17, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.With Petro Gazz import Wilma Salas unleashing her full strength, the Angels strung together three straight wins, 22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 16-14, to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals.The Cuban import unloaded 40 points on 36 attacks, three blocks, and an ace while also providing steady defense with 21 excellent receptions.Salas earned her nod as PVL Press Corps Player of the Week presented by Pilipinas Live for the period of August 13 to 17 after delivering a career-high 74 points in two games against Creamline last Tuesday, August 13, and PLDT on Saturday, August 17, towing the Angels past powerhouse opponents and into a 4-3 win-loss record. She surpassed her previous best of 37 points set in 2019.

Alas Pilipinas Men emerged with a historic achievement by seizing a bronze medal in the first leg of the 2024 Southeast Asian Volleyball League (SEA V.League) after losing to Thailand on Sunday, August 18, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.Despite Alas taking a three-set beating to the Thais, enduring a  26-28, 14-25, 16-25 loss, it is a first podium finish for the Philippine men’s volleyball team since finishing fourth place in their 2022 and 2023 appearance in the tournament. The Filipinos, who were missing the services of team captain and season outside hitter Bryan Bagunas, ended the opening leg at 1-2 while the Thais nabbed the gold after an unblemished record of 3-0.Indonesia, meanwhile, seized the silver after winning back-to-back golds in the 2023 edition.Noel Kampton, who filled in the shoes for the injured Bagunas, paced Alas and produced 10 points. Leo Ordiales and Michaelo Buddin each posted seven markers in the loss. Aside from the third-place finish, Buddin took home the second Best Outside Spiker award, while Kim Malabunga was named second Best Middle Blocker in the first leg.Opposite hitter Bhinijdee Napadet and middle blocker Nilsawai Kissada led the way for the Thais with 14 points apiece while Phanram Anurak chipped in 13 markers as they copped their first-ever SEA V.League title.

Danilo Fresnido won a silver medal in the Men’s 50+ Javelin Throw event at the 2024 World Masters Athletics Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden.Fresnido clinched the second spot behind Carlo Sonego of Italy with a distance of 56.34 meters.Masters sprinters John Aguilar and Brenda Zinampan together with pole vaulter Judith Staples saw action at Day 1 of the tournament.Zinampan ranked 12th in the 100 meter women’s event registering a time of 14.04 seconds in the qualifying rounds and would move to the semifinals. Aguilar finished 5th in 100 meters men’s event heat 2 with a 12.75 seconds performance while Staples ended her pole vault event in 6th place with a jump of 2.0 meter.On the other hand, Day 2 of the event saw Dolly Claravall in the Hammer Throw with a 27.01 meter performance and a 22nd place overall ranking in the highly contested W50 category.Hurdler Edward Kho finished 5th in heat 2 of the 400 meter men’s event and ranked 19th overall with a 1:10.13 performance. Zinampan saw action at the 100 meter women’s event with a 14.40 seconds, finishing at 22nd spot.Eleven members of the National Masters & Senior Athletics Association of the Philippines are competing in the 2024 World Masters Athletics Championship from August 13 to 25.

The first time Olympian Filipina fencer Samantha Kyle Catantan shared her advice on how to achieve our dreams and pursue our passion.

Filipina tennis player Alex Eala missed out on a semifinals berth of the W100 Cary tournament in North Carolina after failing to outplay second seed Renata Zarazua of Mexico early Friday morning (Philippine time).After taking the first set with ease, 6-3, Eala had a strong start in the second set, going up 4-2. However, Zarazua stormed back and won the next four games to take the match into a third set.Despite inching closer, pulling at 3-4, the 26-year-old Mexican bet kept her composure and won to punch a ticket to the semifinals.This is the second straight quarterfinal exit for the 19-year-old Asian Games bronze medalist after falling in the final eight of the W100 Landisville a few days ago. 

Hester will be on his third tour of duty in the league and it became possible after an unfortunate injury happened to Brandon Edwards.Edwards was the original import of the Terrafirma in the season opening conference Governors’ Cup but he suffered an ACL injury in their tune-up game against Meralco Bolts last Tuesday.The Dyip crammed in searching for a replacement for Edwards but luckily for them, Hester was available and also excited to return to Asia’s first play-for-pay league.

Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam praised the Filipino gymnast and two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo, for winning double gold medal during the recently concluded 2024 Paris OlympicsShanmugaratnam described it as a “real milestone” not just for Filipinos, but for Southeast Asians as well.Yulo recently made history in the country by winning back-to-back gold medals for the Philippines during the male floor exercise and vault events in the 2024 Olympic Games.The Singaporean President also says that Yulo has a very impressive performance as an athlete and he is the only athlete in the Southeast Asian nation to have won two Olympic golds in Asia. 

The Akari Chargers took down the Nxled Chameleons to remain perfect in the Premier League Volleyball (PVL) Reinforced Conference on Thursday, August 13, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig. Akari moved just a win away from securing the top seed and sweeping the preliminary round despite an opening set loss to sister team Nxled, 21-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-18.

Ateneo de Manila University’s Paolo Medina made history by winning the first-ever event title in UAAP esports in what was a thrilling basketball esports showdown against its perennial rival.Medina won in a stunning three-game series of NBA 2K24  against De La Salle University’s Kegan Yap, 2-1, at the Doreen Fernandez Black Box, Areté Ateneo, in Quezon City Thursday night. 

Farm Fresh snapped Capital1’s three-game winning streak to keep its quarterfinals hopes alive in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference on Thursday, August 15, at PhilSports Arena.The Foxies bowed to Cignal and PLDT in their last two games but bounced back with a straight set, 25-17, 25-23, 25-20, victory against the Solar Spikers.

The Philippine men’s national basketball team jumped from rank No. 38 to No. 34 following its success during the Olympic Qualifying Tournament last July where they upset the host team and world’s No. 6 Latvia.The Philippines and Japan were the only teams who made a leap in Asia's Top 10. The other Asian squads dropped from one to three rankings from their previous positions.Japan moved up from No. 26 to No. 21 in the world rankings following their Paris Olympics stint.Meanwhile, the other Asian Top 10 who went down from their rankings were No. 7 Australia (-2), No. 22 New Zealand (-1), No. 28 Iran (-1), No. 29 Lebanon (-1), No. 30 China (-1), No. 35 Jordan (-3), No. 53 South Korea (-3), and No. 56 Saudi Arabia (-3).  Overall, Team USA still holds the No. 1 position while the former No. 4 Serbia took the second spot after its gritty Olympic stint.Germany remained at No. 3 while Olympic host France jumped five spots to become the world’s No. 4 ranked team.Canada went two spots up to get the No. 5 position while Spain fell four places from its previous No. 2 to No. 6.Asia’s top ranked team Australia got the No. 7 spot while Argentina stayed at No.8.Gilas’ OQT victim, Latvia went three spots down to be ranked as No. 9 followed by Lithuania to complete the top 10 in the world.

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala to forge ahead to the quarterfinal round of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) W100 Cary Tennis Classic in North Carolina after outplaying Oksana Selekmeteva of Russia on Thursday, August 15 (Philippine time).The 19-year-old pulled off a 7-6(5), 7-6(4) triumph over her former doubles partner Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia. The world No. 147 Eala seemed on her way to a straight-set victory in the Round of 16 when she eked a 4-1 lead in the second set against Selekhmeteva, who partnered with the Filipina during their girls doubles title romp in the 2021 French Open.Selekhmeteva previously held a 3-0 advantage over Eala in their singles head-to-head matchups. The Filipina will attempt to secure a semifinal berth when she faces the winner of the match between second seed Renata Zarazua of Mexico and Sijia Wei of China.

Tough battles await Gilas Pilipinas Women when they face the best teams in the world for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournaments in Kigali, Rwanda slated from August 19 to 25.As part of their preparation, the Filipina cagers held a training camp in Baguio in which they competed against high school boys.

Following Team Philippines’ success in the recently-concluded 2024 Paris Olympics, the Philippines’ Paralympics delegation is ready to make history when they compete in the 2024 Paralympic Games later this month.The six-man national Paralympic team left for Paris on Sunday, August 11, as they continued their preparation for the Games slated from August 28 to September 8.Since joining the Paralympics in 1988, the Philippines has won two bronze medals. The Philippines is sending a total of six Paralympians to Paris with this year’s delegation eager to make history.One of the country’s most accomplished Paralympic athletes, veteran swimmer Ernie Gawilan, is leading the pack as he enters his third Paralympics stint after competing in 2016 and 2020 editions in Rio and Tokyo.The 33-year-old Gawilan, who made history as the first Filipino to win gold at the Asian Para Games in 2018, is also a multi-time ASEAN Para Games gold medalist and is poised for what could be his strongest chance at earning a Paralympics medal this year.Joining him is fellow para swimmer Angel Otom, who is poised to build on her remarkable success from the 2023 ASEAN Para Games, where she won four gold medals, as she prepares for her debut at the Paris 2024 Paralympics at just 20 years old.Wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan is also returning for another Paralympics campaign as a top medal contender following his impressive campaign in Tokyo Olympics where he set a personal mark even after falling short of a podium.The accomplished 44-year-old is expected to leave it all on the track, as this could be his final Paralympic Games.Making her Paralympics debut, Cendy Asusano will represent the Philippines as the country’s top contender in the javelin throw at Paris 2024.Agustina Bantiloc is set to make her Paralympics debut at 55 years old, becoming the first Filipino paralympic archer in history to compete on the sport’s biggest stage.Representing the flag in the taekwondo event, Allain Ganapin is returning for his second Paralympics appearance after qualifying on March 20. Ganapin is finally making his first official bid after he saw his Tokyo Olympics campaign cut short before even getting started after he tested positive for COVID-19.The Filipino para athletes already kicked off their training at Nîmes, France. The Philippine Team hopes to add gold to the small collection of medals in the Paralympic Games. 

Gymnast Association of the Philippines (GAP) chief Cynthia Carrion is planning to form an Olympic team that the Philippines will send to the LA Olympics in 2028 with the sibling of two-time gold medalist Carlos Yulo hopefully being included in the team. Carrion made a forecast and hoping that two Yulos’ will compete in the LA Olympics in 2028. She is referring to the 16 year-old younger brother of Caloy, Karl Eldrew, who has shown the same determination and promise that his elder brother showed on his sporting success. Karl Eldrew is now making his own name in the world of gymnastics and has already bagged gold medals from different international competitions.Eldrew, won a gold medal in the junior level of the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as he reigned supreme in the vault last May of this year. He posted an average of 14.433 points, Yulo ruled the event for his first title in the continental showpiece after settling for silver in the previous edition in Singapore.

Filipino Olympian and pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena dropped to No. 3 in the world pole vault rankings after barely missing the podium in the recently concluded 2024 Paris Olympics.According to the latest report of World Athletics, Obiena dipped to world No. 3 with 1428 points after holding the second rank for more than a year.Silver medalist Sam Kendricks of USA took over Obiena’s previous spot with 1450 points.Armand Duplantis of Sweden, meanwhile, remained as the undisputed pole vault king owning 1617 points following his impressive Olympic and World records of 6.25m for the gold.Coming in fourth is Paris Olympics bronze medalist Emmanouil Karalis of Greece toting 1403 points, while KC Lightfoot of USA came in fifth even though he did not compete in the Summer Games.Making the top 10 are Paris Olympians Kurtis Marschall of Australia (No. 6), Sasma Ersu of Turkey (No. 7), Thibaut Collet of France (No. 8) Christopher Nilsen of USA (No. 9), and Huang Bokai of China (No. 10).

Two-time gold medalist Carlos Yulo is planning to reconnect with his former coach Munehiro Kugimiya after his successful competition in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Kugimiya helped Yulo to develop his gymnastic skills from 2016 up to 2023. Yulo wants to pay respect and express his gratitude to ‘Coach Mune’.He wouldn’t be the same magnificent figure that he is now without the important person that molded him to what he is today. The Gymnast Association of The Philippines (GAP) head Cynthia Carrion  said that Yulo will visit Kugimiya in November. 

Three days after becoming only the second player to win back-to-back United States Golf Association (USGA) championships, Rianne Malixi soared to new heights, climbing to World No. 5 in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings.The 17-year-old Malixi climbed seven notches from her previous 12th spot in the rankings, with an average of 1191.6600 points, after her victory in the US Women’s Amateur in Tulsa, Oklahoma over the weekend.This achievement marks the highest ranking ever reached by a Filipina golfer. 

Just days before the opening day of the Philippine Basketball Association 49th Season, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson officially returned to the TNT Tropang Giga to defend their Governor’s Cup title.Hollis-Jefferson will replace Darius Days as TNT’s import.Rondae was the original choice of TNT as he’s the one who led them to the promised land last year. But he’s not yet available until yesterday (August 14), that's why the team tapped the services of Darius Days.In the official roster line-up of teams released last night, Rondae Hollis Jefferson is the import listed for TNT Tropang Giga.With the return of RHJ, the TNT got a big boost as he already know the system of the team and the fans will have another chance to watch the “Kobe look-alike” import.